Roosevelt University Deemed a ‘Game Changer,’ Preps Chicago Teens for College Life

Roosevelt University Deemed a ‘Game Changer,’ Preps Chicago Teens for College Life

Source: Facebook

Roosevelt University in Chicago has been awarded the Game Changer Award thanks to its extensive summer program, which helped prepare Black male students in Chicago for their future collegiate careers.

The summer full of meaningful experiences and engagement with teens was a part of the university’s Black Male Leadership Academy program, which earned quite a bit of attention for its success with the students.

The One Summer Chicago (OSC) 2014 program gave the university the coveted award after the university reached out to Black teens over the summer and prepared them for life in college.

The group of 19 teens was taken to Roosevelt’s Chicago Campus for a week full of leadership training and cultural learning experiences.

All of the teens were from Children’s Home + Aid, North Lawndale College Preparatory High School and George Westinghouse College Preparatory High School.

In addition to changing the lives of the program’s participants, Roosevelt’s program also provides jobs for several OSC students.

Now that the summer has come to a close, the university plans to continue its mission to help create a brighter future for the Chicago teens by providing a shorter version of the program on select Saturdays.

Starting Oct. 18 the university will open its doors to continue training young Black men and connect them with mentors who will help then navigate through their remaining years in high school.

Many hope that the mentors will build lifetime bonds with the students and continue to be a source of encouragement and guidance throughout their years in college as well.

Al Bennett, the director of the St. Clair Drake Center and the creator of the program, expressed his joy that the program has become such a major success.

He also pointed out that it wouldn’t have been possible without the generous parties who helped fund the entire program.

“We would like to thank Robert and Rose Johnson and the Efroymson Family Fund for their generous donations, which made this program possible,” Bennett said according to the university’s website.

Vice provost for academic support and retention, Michael Ford, said he looks “forward to continuing the work of the Black Male Leadership Academy in the future.”